Assault reported on Mt. Sentinel

Emergency crews transported a woman to a hospital Friday following an assault on Mt. Sentinel that spurred a campus-wide alert. Her condition was unknown as of print.

UM police are currently searching for a white male, 30-40 years old wearing black pants, black shirt and baseball cap, according to an email sent about an hour after the reported assault.

At 2:30 p.m., “UMPD and local EMS responded to Mount Sentinel after a woman was physically assaulted while hiking in an area north of the M-Trail and down from the M,” the email said.

UMPD Lt. Brad Giffin said following the report, UMPD, the Missoula Police Department and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office immediately began coordinating a search for the assailant.

“We even had Life Flight up in the air who did a quick scan of the area. But with so many people hiking the area, it was too difficult for them to conduct an accurate search,” he said.

Giffin said a witness told police the person who reportedly assaulted the woman was last seen “running uphill” from the area described in the email. Giffin could not say who alerted police to the assault

The campus-wide email said UMPD recommends always carrying a cell phone and to add the University of Montana Police Department emergency number: (406) 243-4000.

Anyone with any information regarding the assault is encouraged to call UMPD at 243-6131. More information will be added as it becomes available.